Read an ARC.

This is the story of two beautiful, perfect people, who fall in love and almost get everything they want before they overthink it instead of talking to one another.

A couple of overused phrases, the frequency of jeggings and how small / petite sized frame.

Majorly irked by the switching of narrative approach, starts out first person and third person in the flashback but then present day interlude in third person before another flashback also in third person where the book remains.

I am not in the medical field but what are the odds that someone in their second year of residency gets both christmas day and new years eve off work?! Strains credulity.

The secondary characters are surface level only and the main characters did not even experience much growth.

All in all? Entertaining beach read but disjointed and ends abruptly.

EDITED:

When I first saw this book I was drawn to the cover and loved the idea that it sounded a bit like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. It definitely delivered in that department! As far as when the jumps were I thought the dual timeline was done well but it could have been balanced better. There was more detail than I needed in the past sections but I am sure that readers who connect more with Elsie than I happened to will appreciate those extra moments with her! I was longing for more detail on why they would be back together now and not just that they were drawn together because of their old feelings. Still, I was able to enjoy the idea of their romance and seeing the two of them come back together was lovely and heart wrenching at times.

Overall the concept is lovely and it is a quick read. If second chance romance is one of your top favorite tropes then this would definitely be worth trying!

*Thank you so much to the publisher for reaching out with an updated copy of the book. I was able to go back and reread the last third of the book and feel like I could understand and follow the story better this time.*

I pushed through this book the best that I could. While the story overall wasn’t terrible the formatting was a mess and it was full of typos. There were full paragraphs that were simply unreadable and I had to make assumptions about what was happening. I know it’s an arc but it was difficult for me to tell what was even happening on the story at times so I don’t know if they were issues with the story or just kinks that can be ironed out before publication. I am sure there will be people out there who will connect with and enjoy these characters.

Elsie and Auggie. These two fell in love but their story ended on bad terms. This was an interesting story. Auggie is an ER doctor, and one busy night, a Jane Doe comes in badly injured, they are doing all they can to save this patients life, while doing what he can, he recognizes a scar and realizes its the love of his life, but he has not seen her in so many years. He is devastated and feels the urgency to save her life.

This story bounces into the past quite a bit, trying to get us to understand their relationship and to how it became to the present. I really enjoyed the story, I wanted to see what would happen. I felt the "grovel" the letter so deeply. The only downfall was that I wanted more of them in the present! Otherwise it was a good read, I enjoyed it.

I am in love! The back story made me love the characters more. How they met, how they fell in love, how they learn each others flaws and lastly how they broke up.

When Stars Align explains the struggle of being a Medical student, especially a Medical student with a relationship. The only reason I did not give this a higher rate because of its ending. It felt rush and I, as a reader, love epilogues (longer epilogues please).

Although the best part of this is, them meeting again in an expected way.

Thank you for the author, publisher and net galley for giving me the chance to read this advance copy of When Stars Align.

this was a great love story and a story about overcoming trauma. The writing was a bit juvenile, in my opinion.

It started off a lot better than it finished for me.
In the beginning, I really loved it! It felt like a less dramatic Greys Anatomy which I adore! I liked the concept of going from present to past as the story progresses, however, there were times when the author would go into the last while we were supposed to be in the present still, and it just got confusing. I also just wanted a bit more from the present, maybe we could’ve seen him redeem himself with Marie first and really show up for her during recovery rather than just checking on her via chart notes.

This was an enjoyable read and also its a new to me author. I would read more of their work in the future though as I enjoyed both the writing style and the plot of the book with this one.

At first, the book was good but after a few chapters the story got boring. The plot was so slow. I like that the story has a dual timeline but it mostly revolved on the past not on the present. The storyline was okay but it was basic and a little bit cliché. It felt like there's nothing really special about it. I didn't feel any connection to the characters and I hate some of them. Augustus was okay but I hate him for doing that to Elsie, she doesn't deserve it! I don't like the conflict that happened in the story. It doesn't really make sense. I didn't get it why the author did that. The ending was short and abrupt. Even though the book was kind of lacking, it was still a good read.

This story is steamy and seductive with a healthy dose of action to keep you coming back for more. I am in love with this book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

If you like romance and drama (in the best possible way) go read this book! I’m a sucker for anything that has medical drama and this book exceeded my expectations. This book is a hidden gem!

I enjoyed reading this, it was what I was hoping for in a romance novel. It has a great plot in this book and was what I expected from the description. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed the romance. E.K. McCoy does a great job in creating a beautiful romance. I can't wait to read what comes next from E.K. McCoy.

"I think your mom led you to me,” she whispered. “If she hadn’t gone to UC, you wouldn’t have wanted to come here. Think about it. You could have gone anywhere—Harvard, Duke—but you chose UC because of her."

The storyline of this book had really high potential for me. I was definitely invested in the characters and their backstories early on in the book, but the delivery was a bit chaotic for my taste. It seems like there were too many events happening, which limited the focus on Elsie and Auggie reconnecting. I also felt like the story came to an abrupt end. The grammatical errors were slightly distracting as well. Overall, I loved the concept but didn’t feel a connection to the actual book.

Elsie was sitting on the step watching people at a college party. When Dr. Auggie Owen came home from a long day in the ER he noticed her sitting next door. They were drawn to each other immediately. Elsie was not a party girl and was just waiting for her best friend to agree to go home. The longer she waited, the less she wanted to leave Dr. Owen who came over and introduced himself. Both Elsie and Auggie had scars from childhood experiences. Elsie lost her mother to cancer at a young age and her dad when she was a teen. All she had was her grandmother, Olive, and the love of music she shared with her family. Auggie lost his mother at a young age and when his father was lost without her, he started forcing the life of a surgeon on Auggie. Music was Elsie’s focus and medicine was Auggie’s focus. Somehow, he thought he could work things out, but the stars were not aligned. After breaking up they are reunited when Elsie is in a life-threatening accident and Dr. Owen is her trauma doctor. This is a great love story with both Elsie and Auggie trying their best to strengthen each other. Elsie is fragile and not secure with her beloved doctor. I loved the support of Olive and Elsie’s best friend. The special times Auggie created for Elsie were endearing. This book shows what love looks like and how we sometimes sacrifice ourselves to help those we love.

Overall, this was a beautiful read with amazing meaning to the book, the premise of trauma and overcoming it is both heartfelt and a roller coaster of emotion. It also elegantly demonstrates the feeling of lost love and the situations this may put you in, overall I think McCov work is trivial.